I began this section of my website about six years ago, but I didn’t go much of anywhere with it, since “life” interfered in a big way, so it has languished all this time.  I'm really happy I can now take some time to begin work on a revamp of the entire section.  

I think all of us have diets that are influenced by the areas in which we live, and by the traditional foods of our parents, grandparents and those who came before them.  I know ours certainly are.  Family traditions are made around the holiday and celebration dinner tables, and for some people, religious rites are also included, so in addition to sustaining us and keeping us healthy, food plays a big role in our families as well. 

In the past seven years our diets, our foods and our recipes began going through a change, mostly due to the cooking shows on television, and mostly those on the Food Network, introduced to me by our friend Creagh.  She is sort of a gourmet cook, and an extended stay at their home really helped my flagging interest in food and eating, as she prepares some absolutely wonderful meals on a daily basis. 

Since Jim and I come from opposite ends of the country, and had not changed our diets until we met, there was a big difference in the foods we were used to, so we really had to work to introduce each other to new foods, and to find some middle ground in some places to provide foods that were tasty, appetizing and interesting to both of us. 

Since I have had so much trouble with allergies in the last 7-8 years I have gradually shied away from prepared foods, finding that they did not agree with me well, and make most things from scratch, and we cook every day.  

You will find a variety of foods in our recipes, but they generally fall into three main categories: Foods that are quick to prepare but tasty; foods that take longer to prepare but are still fairly simple, and have a special taste that we love, and holiday foods that have family traditions and memories attached to them.  

As we explore we tend to look for recipes that are not so heavy, as we are more diet and health-conscious now.  Some have meats that are better for you than red meats – chicken or turkey, fish or seafood as meat entrees, and we limit the potatoes/bread/pasta we eat without completely eliminating them.  We have rice, we have some pasta, but I’ve found that I have to have some variety, and taste “contrast” in a meal for it to taste good to me.  I do not eliminate carbohydrates from our diet.  Especially in my case, they are needed for energy, as they are needed in everyone’s diet for that reason.  It is the excess of them that creates additional weight, so we use them occasionally and judiciously.  Besides, potatoes and good fresh bread bring me much pleasure in my diet, and eating would not be pleasant for me without them.  There are other things I can cut to allow them.

Some recipes here serve a large family, but that also serve for just one person equally well.  I’ve also included some dessert recipes, although we try to limit desserts, and do not have them each day.  We do try to eat fruits each day, which suffice.

Some of my recipes, such as Swiss steak, pot roast, roast chicken, etc., are very old recipes, but over the years my preparation of them has changed gradually, to produce an excellent version that is very successful for serving company well, with a minimum of fuss.

Some of these recipes depend on gravy, and while gravy is limited in our household and served only occasionally, I have tried to pass on the “secret” to making the best gravy you’ve ever had.  It can make a great meal one that's just "out of this world," and an occasional serving is reasonable. 

I have also passed on other secrets that lead to other excellent tasting recipes, while the recipe ingredients are those still found in many areas today.  Often it is just a technique that can take a recipe from being “okay” to being a great taste-treat. 

The recipes you will find here right now are just a drop in the bucket of all that I have, and I will continue to add them as I can.  If there is something you are looking for and do not see here, let me know and I’ll see what I have for it, and will forward it to you.

I hope you all enjoy this section of my website, and that you find recipes here you’ll try.  Please let me know how you like them if you do.

On this page (just below) you’ll find our Table of Contents that list recipe sections currently on the website, and updates will follow at regular intervals, so please check back.